Comic Rack – Captain America #1

After growing disinterested in the end of Ed Brubaker‘s run on the character I was ready for a new writer to breathe life into Captain America. The first issue of the new series written by Rick Remender is a bit of a mixed blessing as Cap contemplates marriage to Sharon Carter and take on an old enemy in Armin Zola.

Yes, Remender takes the character in a new direction, but he also gives us a questionable introduction of Steve Rogers abusive father and a message (hamfistedly delivered at least three times over the course of the issue) that has been Cap’s guiding philosophy since childhood. I understand what Remender’s going for, but to start out a new series with a gross oversimplification of a character’s origins isn’t the best way to begin.

Although I don’t hate the art, I’m not sure John Romita Jr. is the right choice for the comic if, as Remender states in the afterward, the point is to take the series into the weird sci-fi stories the character enjoyed under Jack Kirby‘s run in the 1970’s. Hit-and-Miss.